Greetings fellow travelers:
“Through the Red Sea costs extra”.
Israeli movers
overcharge Moses……………………………………………………………Haikus for Jews
Welcome back blog readers- it is good to be back with you, though not without a share of mishaps (you’ll have to read on). And a hearty welcome to the new group of followers…..long may you read. For the Newbies: you can also hit the attached link and read the blog on my website, if you are more driven by such. And, eventually, you’ll catch up with what the hell I’m ranting about…or you can go back and read the last four years’ blogs on the website and be snazily up to date…
Dedication: to my very dear friend, Bob, who suddenly and tragically passed this February after a fall at the nursing home in the Bronx. I was, amazingly, gifted with the highly unlikely chance to see him the week before he died. Bob was the first guiding light in my journey of life (and for many others): an inspiration and a mensch of the highest degree.
So, it was a long and interesting winter- not at all what we expected back in the heartland. To sum it up:
Lows- The Parkway outside our kitchen window, TRUMP, passing of three good friends, TRUMP, four months of no sun, TRUMP, Several injuries related to turning Medicare age, TRUMP, not much work for me, TRUMP, my dental hygienist leaving my dentist, TRUMP, missing the mountains, TRUMP, big city traffic and noise and endless orange barrels and detours….and …. TRUMP.
Highs- Overcoming the squirrel population (we live trapped 13 of the bastards), seeing our kids, family vacation to Yucatan and Cuba, sun forays to the Baja and the Keys, playing with The Band all winter, the nearby Y, the hot tub four nights a week, seeing the 50th anniversary tour of the Dirt Band, watching seven seasons of Mad Men..…spending time with all our old posse
All that said, it is too good to be back in the mountains. Getting here was fraught with peril, as usual- though we got to have a brief visit with the expectants (Ry and Lauren) in Cleveland, where it’s a day to day count for the first grandchild. Managed to once again offend the NEW York state police and garnered a VERY overstated ticket for which they may send me to Danamora for a few years…can you say “traffic lawyer”?. Due to the “misunderstanding” on the hated I-88, we were going to be late for the plumber arrival, so called the plumber son on his cell…and a miracle, he had service in Vermont- which turned out to be good, because his dad went to Florida and neglected to put us on his schedule. Luckily, he was able to get away from another job and meet us in time to let the water flow. From there it was on to the Cable Guy…always one of life’s pleasant adventures…and no different this time around. Did get the internet up and running through a fair amount of advance conniving (and therefore our phone service) with relative ease, but had problems with the cable, which wound up in three days of hassling with them and eventually my threats to blow up the nearby Rutland office (I’m now waiting for storm troopers at my door)…but we are now hooked up with a wave of the future, voice controlled remote (i.e.- “ give me Netflix”, “turn on the damn NBA game”)- Jenn says I have to quit yelling at the TV…..we are adjusting to the intrusion of the 22nd century.
Before I go any further (if I haven’t lost you already)…did I mention THE POND……how many ways can one say magnificence…beauty of this quality one usually reserves for the Louvre and the Grand Canyon…nature’s masterpiece in three acts…I weep as I type…but I’ll just stop now and let you gaze at the pictures in awed silence as I head out to the barn to discard my trusted kitchen strainers once and for all. Ayy- I’m Faklempt- talk amongst yourselves… (did I mention we have ducks?)
OK- this a lot for a first installment (for all of us)- so I am going to revert to the ZEN of our first week, as we work to settle in and re-acclimate to the wilderness (hopefully only 250 more word):
- The trees are mostly still bare- it is the end of mud season here…and it’s been in the 40s and damp- we had one day with two hours of sunshine and ran out to mow the lawn and put out all our yard tchotchkes
- In a recent survey of Vermonters, 28% are ready for Vermont to secede from the Union (DT effect) and create its own country….who might be our prime mister?
- Returned to Folk Club Monday night in the midst of unpacking…some things never change , but two of my fellows were lying in wait for me to return to do my most forlorn songs to highlight their recent break-up misery with lonely hearts club material …what am I, a therapist?
- First day back and we already had connections with: the Jewish fish monger, our Blue-Skies massage maven, the lord of the Dump and the one African -American gay hairdresser in Vermont.
- We made our first run to the Dump (uh…the Transfer Station) and were regaled by the dump master on how he was coming down to The POND to fish soon…naked…when I am out of town (have I mentioned he has thing for Jenn)
- Lucy has re-discovered the JOY of free roaming on our dead end dirt road….getting into shit left and right…and requiring three baths on one week
- We have established new BEDDING in our rooms and Jen has a list (going around all day in her mind) of at least a dozen home improvement projects plus the acquisition of a pickup truck
- The lunch Yentas at Java Baba screamed and ran into my arms when I came in for the first time…what’s not to like…and filed me with news of the weird
- We went out in the rain on Saturday to help out with the annual Vermont “Green-up” day, walking down dirt roads for miles and picking up a total of about a quarter bag of garbage…it’s a clean place generally speaking
- I discovered you can walk into a Vermont car parts place, and tell them the brake parts you bought over two years ago in Ohio are kaput, and walk out with free replacement parts…it’s a longer story than that, but another time, with no word limit
- And, we celebrated my old-age birthday last night with a trip to town, a nice dinner at Rutland’s finest Table 24 and a concert at the fabulous Paramount theater…the kings of old fashioned bluegrass (all with ties and jackets)…The Del McCoury Band
Enuff is enuff…no? Talk to you soon. Love, peace and tolerance, my friends,
Stu-Ber
